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FAINT PRAISE FOR PLEASANTLY PRETTY 'GODSPELL'
Sometimes it's hard to remember what the world was like in 1971, when Godspell was brand-new. All in the Family had just come to TV. The Exorcist was on the best-seller list, and Janis Joplin was on the pop-music chart with "Me and Bobby McGee." A little thing called Walt Disney World was opening down the road from Orlando. Richard Nixon was president. And Americans were still fighting in Vietnam. Back then, Godspell was a gust of fresh air, a youthful reaction to old-fashioned, big-budget musicals and old-fashioned, big-budget life. Its setting was a city playground, and its lead character, who happened to be Jesus, was dressed as a clown. But all of that was long ago, and now Godspell, more than most musicals, seems like a blast from the past. Winter Park Playhouse brings lots of energy and a fair amount of charm to this little show, which is based on the gospel of St. Matthew and offers folk-tinged rewrites of some old Episcopal hymns. But the spark that once lit up Godspell has cooled. At first glance, Godspell seems right for the Winter Park Playhouse, the 74-seat theater-in-the-making that has formed expressly to present smaller musicals like this -- although frequent theatergoers might have hoped for one not so often produced, especially at prices this steep. The eight-member company fits just fine on the Playhouse's little stage, with room for a three-man band behind them. There's space, too, in the broad center aisle (the Playhouse hasn't yet built the risers it plans to have) for a dancer or two to come down from the stage and try to involve the audience in the fun. And in the beginning, it seems as if director Roy Alan has a slightly different take on the show, which is set on a city street, a storefront window marked Angel's Music Co. giving a glimpse of the band behind it. Jesus' ragtag followers are dressed this time around as ordinary folks -- a businessman, a hospital staffer in surgical scrubs, a construction worker, a streetwalker, a student. And Jesus himself is in white pants and T-shirt, although his boxers in the first scene and his belt buckle afterwards bear the familiar Superman logo from the original show. Alan's cast has a pretty good time with the jokes, the charades and the vaudeville routines this Jesus uses to tell his stories. Some of them -- Jonathan Glickman, Joanie A. Garner, Lynda Wilkerson -- have an especially nice way with the comedy. Nearly all of them move beautifully to Alan's choreography, which is more in evidence than in your usual Godspell. And one or two -- particularly the bright-eyed Mari Coscarelli -- are lovely to watch. Strange, then, that there are so few strong voices among the eight actors. Too many of the voices are pretty but thin, and too many of the performers are called upon to sing tunes out of their range. Garner and Wilkerson make graceful work of the quiet anthem "By My Side," and Glickman does the same with "We Beseech Thee." But only Michael Colavolpe, who plays the dual role of Judas and John the Baptist, has the showy voice this show demands. That includes John Gracey's Jesus, who can't make himself heard when he's trying to speak up above the crowd of followers or in his lively duet with Judas ("All for the Best"). Gracey is an affable actor, and his voice is sweet and pretty. But the charisma you need for the role is missing, and that's true in general for this pleasant, unexceptional production. Surely any religion needs a cast of characters more colorful than this. |